The Art of Friendship
by webbswoman
Summary: It's Jesse Travis' first day at Community General, he's always wanted to be a doctor, he's always wanted friends, he's always wanted to fit in, here is his story. FINISHED
1. Chapter 1

**Things in _Italics_ are thought or dreams. Enjoy.**

Chapter One

Jesse Travis looked around him at the empty apartment, there were boxes everywhere, full of things he had collected over they years. He went to the first box and opened it, it was full of books. The books all had one thing in common, they were all to do with medicine, but apart from that one similar theme there was a wide range of titles, "Modern Day Medicine", "The Common Cold: The truth" and "The Doctors Guide To Everything" were just a few of the titles, and Jesse had read everyone at least twice. Now he was ready to put the theory into practice. But he had to be practical, he needed a base, somewhere that was comfortable and somewhere where he could study peacefully. That's why he had moved to LA, and rented himself and apartment with the money left over from working at the restaurant back in Illinois.

He checked his watch; he still had three hours before he had to leave for Community General Hospital, which meant three hours of cleaning, unpacking and maybe introducing himself to his neighbours. Opening the next box he found about six big photo albums and he opened the one on the top up smiling. The first photo was of him, there was another guy in the picture, tall and dark his best friend Rick stood out like a beacon. Jesse gave a small chuckle, he remembered the day well, it was at Rick's housewarming party, Rick had moved up to LA about six months ago and that was one of the reasons why Jesse had chosen to come to Los Angeles, the other was Mark Sloan. Jesse would be serving his internship under the watchful eye of Dr. Sloan, Chief of Internal Medicine at Community General, Jesse had heard a lot about Sloan, both in the news and from his mother, every doctor had heard of him and his mother was no exception. Jesse couldn't wait to meet him and was hoping to learn a lot from him. He turned over the next page and the next and before he knew it two hours had gone by. _Oh man and I haven't even begun the cleaning yet, there isn't much point in starting now, I may as well take a walk around the neighbourhood then head for the hospital._ Jesse grabbed his coat off the back of his chair and sprung out the front door excitedly. He couldn't wait to get started on his first day at Community General.


	2. Chapter 2

**Once again anything that is written in_ Italics_ is thoughts, dreams or flashbacks. Enjoy**

Chapter 2

Jesse walked through the automatic doors into the hospital, he glanced around, a small smile playing on his lips, and then he bounded over to the desk. A nurse was sitting on a spinney office chair, talking on the phone, as Jesse got closer he could hear parts of her conversation.

"Yes well, I told him straight, I said to him, 'Mattie either you get your ideas bucked up or you're out.' Oh wait a minute honey something's come up, I'll ring you later, yeah you too." The nurse looked up at Jesse, and he flashed a grin.

"Hi, I'm looking for Dr. Sloan, he's expecting me."

"Well, he's due any minute, he'll be coming this way so you might as well wait here cuti… err I'm sorry I didn't catch the name."

"Jesse, Jesse Travis, you are?"

"Sammie, sorry Nurse Bolton."

"Right, well its very nice too meet you. I think I will wait here." Jesse leaned against the desk and was about to speak again when he heard a shout.

"Incoming!" Jesse turned to see a man coming towards him on a pair of roller-skates; it looked like the man was having trouble stopping so Jesse grabbed his arm as he went by. The man smiled warmly.

"Thank you very much; I'm afraid I'm a bit out of practice."

"You like to travel on skates then?"

The man laughed, "No, but my car likes to break down, Mark Sloan, nice to meet you."

"Wait a minute; you're the Dr. Sloan, as in Dr. Sloan Chief of Internal Medicine?"

"Yes that's me, and please call me Mark, and you are?"

"Jesse Travis, I …"

"You're the new intern! I've heard great things about you!" The nurse at the desk looked up in interest and Jesse began to blush.

"Well, I hope I can live up to them." Jesse smiled.

"I'm sure you will, come on then, I'll show you around, I hope you realise that I believe in putting theory into practice, I will want to see you jumping straight into the thick of things, of course hospitals can be pretty overwhelming at first but you get used to it."

"There's nothing to worry about there, I practically grew up in hospitals, my Mum's a doctor and she's got her own private hospital, I helped out a bit there."

"Well then, I'm sure you'll fit right in then Jesse. Come on, there's some people I'd like you to meet."

Jesse began walking after Mark, grinning happily, if everyone was like Mark he was going to have a great time at Community General.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, it is greatly appreciated. Once again _italics_ are thoughts, flashbacks or dreams.**

Chapter 3

They had reached a door, on it was a brass nameplate, the inscription read 'Dr. Mark Sloan, Chief of Internal Medicine.' Mark opened the door and walked inside, Jesse followed hesitantly. There were two other people in the office, one was a woman, pretty, tall and efficient looking, the other was a man, the man was well built, he was laughing. They both looked up and grinned when they saw Mark. Mark beamed back then turned to Jesse.

"Jesse, this is Amanda Bentley, she's the pathologist here, and this guy here is my son Steve, he's a detective with the LAPD. Guys, this is Jesse Travis, he's a new intern." Jesse smiled shyly.

"It's nice to meet you both."

"Yes, you too Jesse, if ever there's a dead body you need examined don't hesitate to ask." Jesse gave a nervous smile. The man laughed.

"Just ignore Amanda Jesse, she's playing around, it's really nice to meet you, do you like surfing?"

"Yeah, I mean I've only done it a few times but it was great, I haven't been for about five years though."

"Well, I live on a beach so you'll have to come by some time and we'll catch some waves together." Jesse nodded enthusiastically and was about to speak again but was interrupted by Mark.

"Well, as much as I would love to stand and talk about surfing all day, I have rounds to do, Jesse, I'd like you to come with me, that way you can get a tour of the hospital, a chance to meet some of the staff and I can get a chance to see you in action, Steve, Amanda I'll see you tonight 6 sharp remember." Jesse threw a quick grin at Steve as he left the room. He really was going to enjoy his time at the hospital.

Eight hours later and Jesse had just about finished for the day, he was sitting in the staff room sipping a piping hot cup of coffee to try and wake himself up, it had been an exhausting day, going on the rounds with Mark had been interesting but he had felt the pressure when Mark asked him questions, then it had been time for class, that had been even more interesting, Mark had given them a basic lecture then asked them to discuss old medicines versus new medicines, Jesse had become very involved in the discussion which in due course had turned into a debate. Then they had been treated to a Sloan rap which had been very enlightening, after 3 hours of lessons he had then been sent to the ER to observe one of the doctors at work, he had ended up helping out and had found it very demanding, but he had loved every minute of it. He was brought out of his thoughts by a gentle knock on the door; he turned to see Steve Sloan leaning against the doorframe.

"Oh, hi Steve, erm I think Marks in with a patient right now, but I could…"

"I'm not here to see my Dad Jess." Jesse stared at the man in front of him.

"Jess?"

"Sorry, is it okay if I call you Jess?"

"What, yeah erm of course, are you here to see Amanda? Because I think she got called out to a crime scene." Steve laughed.

"I'm here to see you, Jess"

"Me?"

"What is that so hard to believe? I was wondering if you would like to come surfing once you've finished here."

"I thought you and Amanda were meant to be meeting with your Dad."

"Yeah, I thought that you could join us, if you want to."

"Are you sure that would be alright with your Dad and Amanda, I mean you hardly know me, for all you know I could be some crazy psychopath murderer!"

"Well I'm normally a pretty good judge of character and you don't strike me as a psychopath, correct me if I'm wrong of course."

"No, um, you're right, I'm not, I um, I'm just about finished up here so just give me a minute to go and get changed and then I'm ready to go!" Steve nodded and Jesse rushed to the locker rooms. He was just closing his locker, ready to leave when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he turned with a smile on his face but the moment he saw who it was it disappeared.

"Hello Jesse, long time no see, huh Travis." Jesse gulped, and then tried to push past the man, "Leaving so soon Travis, I don't think so. You know this is really great, I never thought I'd see you again but here you are at the same hospital as me, is this your first day?" Jesse nodded, then tried to get away again, but was pushed back hard against the lockers.

"Where do you think you're going huh Travis, I'm not finished with you yet." The man stepped back abruptly as the door opened, Jesse looked up hopefully but it was only a patient who had got the wrong door and the woman left immediately.

"Look, Bryan, please just let me go. I'm meant to be meeting someone and if I don't get there soon he'll probably come looking for me either that or he'll run a check on me to find out if I'm a psychopath or…"

"Run a check?"

"H h he's a d detective."

"Well you better run along then, but if I were you Travis I'd watch your step, after all, you're new here, I've been here over a year, I'm trusted, I could get you thrown out of here as easy as I could click my fingers, now run along and play."

Jesse grabbed his things and hurried out into the corridor, he took a few seconds to calm himself down and was going to meet Steve, but then he saw him talking to Bryan and changed direction, maybe he would go surfing another day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Again _italics_ are thoughts, flashbacks or dreams! Thanks for all the reviews so far.**

Chapter 4

_Twelve year old Jesse was running for his life, blood was pouring from his lip and his hair was drenched with sweat, he could hear shouting behind him, but he didn't dare turn around. Instead he tried to increase his pace, glancing around him he tried to work out where he was, and then as his surroundings registered he breathed a sigh of relief and slowed slightly. Now he could hear footsteps right behind him, his attackers were catching up with him. He turned right and into the garage, where he doubled over panting for breath. He heard his assailants behind him and then their were hands, all over him, but they were gentle, concerned. He glanced up sobbing then fell into his brother's arms. He heard footsteps then, but for once they were running away from him, not after him. _

_He was safe, but then he heard a voice in the doorway, one of the boy's had not ran, one of them had stayed. _

"_Jesse, are you okay, what happened?" Jesse wanted to tell his brother everything then, how the boy standing there asking if he was okay had made the past year of his life hell, but he didn't, he was too scared. So he shook his head and buried himself deeper into his brother's chest._

Jesse woke up, he was shaking, sweating and couldn't control the sobs that raked his body. He curled up into a ball and began rocking,_ why did Bryan have to turn up now, why couldn't he just leave me alone? _

He thought about his brother, Chris. Chris was technically his step-brother; he was nine years older than Jesse and had only lived with him for a year before moving into a place of his own. But they had always been very close; neither boy had ever got on with Jesse's step-father and had bonded very quickly. Nobody had ever found out what happened to Jesse at the hands of Bryan, they thought that the both of them had been friends, Jesse shuddered at the thought.

Jesse glanced over at the clock; it was 3 am only half an hour since he had last woken up. He couldn't even ring his brother or Rick as it was too early, so he turned on the lamp by his bedside and reached under his bed for the book he was reading about a mad scientist who was trying to take over the world by turning people into Zombies. After a moments thought he placed the book on his bed and went into the kitchen, as it was only his first day in the apartment he didn't have much in, but he managed to find cocoa and he made himself a hot chocolate, then he climbed back into bed and started to read his book.

Jesse glanced at the clock again, 5:30 am, he had bean rereading the same line over and over again for about twenty minutes, he hadn't been able to concentrate. So he clambered out of bed and pulled his favourite jeans and a tee-shirt on. Then he rang a taxi to come and pick him up.

Ten minutes later Jesse was sitting on the sand at a beach in Malibu looking out to sea. His head was filled with thoughts and memories, he just could not get Bryan out of his mind, he wasn't due at the hospital for another couple of hours, it was too early too ring anyone and he didn't have any idea about what places there were to go in the city, so he had nothing to distract him. A tear ran down his cheek and he buried his face in his hands.

Steve Sloan stood and watched the lone figure sitting on the sand, he had been disappointed when the boy had disappeared and had at first thought that maybe Jesse was just really shy, however now he wondered if there was something more. The kid was obviously very distressed, and by the looks of him cold, he himself had a jumper and thick jacket on yet he was still shivering, the boy only had a tee-shirt.

He had come down to the beach to sit awhile, he liked to get up early and do this at least once a week, to clear his head and think things through. He wondered if that was what the boy was doing. Well, there was only one way to find out. Steve started walking towards Jesse, hoping he was doing the right thing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it has taken so long to update, I have been very busy at school lately but now it's the holidays so the updates should happen quicker! Italics are still thoughts, flashbacks or dreams. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. Enjoy. Also this is another short chapter but I promise a longer one is on its way!**

Chapter 5

"Jesse, are you okay?" the huddled figure on the beach turned abruptly and saw none other than Steve Sloan standing right behind him.

"I, I, y..ye, no I.." Jesse buried his face in his arms again, ashamed of his stutter and to try and hide his embarrassment.

"Jess, it's okay, you don't have to be embarrassed, but what isn't okay is that you're shivering, here take my coat." Steve wrapped the leather jacket around the trembling form and began to rub Jesse's arms, trying to warm him up. What he wasn't expecting was for Jesse to burst into tears and throw himself at him. But that's exactly what happened, he found his arms full and instinctively pulled the boy closer. "Shh, Jess, don't cry, it's alright now, you're safe, I've got you." He kept on muttering reassurances, all the while rubbing up and down the boy's back in a comforting gesture.

Jesse snuggled deeper, he felt safe with this man, secure, and for some reason, special. Steve stood up, pulling Jesse with him, gently he guided him up to the beach house. Without a word he put him down on the sofa and covered him with blankets. Then he went into the kitchen and made him a hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream. He heard someone enter the kitchen and turned to see his Dad.

"Steve, what's Jesse doing here?" Mark enquired.

"I found him on the beach Dad, he was cold and shivering, and then when I spoke to him he just broke down completely. So I brought him here to warm him up." Mark nodded, then the two men walked into the living room, and smiled. Jesse had fallen asleep. Mark silently left the room, but Steve sat down in the comfy armchair to keep watch over Jesse.

**That's all for this chapter! I have a rough idea where this chapter is going BUT I am thinking about making it progress to SLASH but I will only do that if people want me to so please let me know! Thanks! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, here is what I am going to do, this story id going to be Gen as some people don't like slash BUT I am also going to write a Slash version of it. The first chapter of that will be up soon. So this is still Gen! Enjoy!**

Chapter 6

Jesse opened his eyes and looked around, then he jumped up in alarm, he didn't recognise the house that he was in, and as nice as it looked he was slightly worried how he had ended up her. He heard a sound to the left of him and spun around, a look of confusion passed over his face and then he remembered seeing Steve on the beach, breaking down in front of him, and then his expression became one of shame as he recalled throwing his arms around the older man. He sat down on the sofa groaning.

"I have made such an idiot of myself, I'm really sorry Steve, you must think that I'm such a baby." Steve smiled reassuringly, sitting down next to the boy.

"Not at all Jess, you were upset about something, you don't have to be embarrassed, after all I'm your friend." At the words Jesse looked up shyly, an air of disbelief on his face.

"You, my friend? But I'm, I'm …" Jesse's voice trailed off.

"Yes a friend and I would really like to get to know you better Jesse. You seem like a great guy albeit with a self esteem problem," Steve gave Jesse a knowing look and Jesse gave a small smile.

"I, I would really l like to be your friend S Steve" at this Steve stood up and began to walk out of the room, gesturing for Jesse to follow. He led Jesse into the kitchen where Mark Sloan was in the middle of cooking something.

"Hi Jesse, want some pancakes?" Jesse nodded eagerly, his facing lighting up at the prospect of food. "Son?" Steve nodded, there was nothing like his fathers pancakes to start off a day. Mark put some pancakes on some plates the men, then turned to Jesse, "What do you like on your pancakes?"

Jesse thought for a moment, "Erm, chocolate spread and honey please." Mark raised his eyebrows but said nothing; Steve however voiced his thoughts over the choice.

"Uurgh, Jesse, they're nice separately, but not together." Jesse grinned but didn't reply; instead he began to tuck into the plate that had been set down for him. Steve had to stop himself from laughing at loud at the speed at which Jesse was eating, "Jess, it's not a race you know!" Jesse looked up at alarm and then reddened.

"Oh God, sorry I didn't mean to, I mean I "Steve cut him off, noticing that Jesse was once again stumbling over his words.

"Hey, its okay, I was only joking, you can eat as fast or as slow as you want" Jesse smiled and began eating again. Mark spoke up.

"Actually Jesse, you should probably slow down, you'll make yourself ill eating at that speed." Steve glanced anxiously at Jesse, looking for any signs of sickness, but when he saw none he shove a mouthful of chocolate covered pancake in his mouth.

About five minutes later Jesse sat back, having polished off his plate, still hungry he looked wistfully at Steve's plate. The older man noticed and offered Jesse the rest of his pancakes.

"No, Steve I couldn't, I mean it's your breakfast."

"Jesse, just eat the pancakes, okay." Jesse smiled at Steve then tucked ibto the food contentedly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay here is the next chapter-finally. But first I would just like to apologise for taking so long to update this story. My excuse is going to sound like a cliché but I really have been busy. I was on holiday, then back to school (am doing my GCSE year) and then I've been ill, in fact that's the only reason I've had time to write this chapter. So here it is, and sorry once again.**** Also there is a body in this one, some people may find it disturbing, so you have been warned.**** There is also a confrontation that has some one sided violence in it.**

The car pulled to a stop and Jesse looked over at Mark Sloan, smiling gratefully.

"Thanks for the lift, I really should have just driven somewhere last night instead of taking a taxi , but I was tired and I didn't know where anywhere was so…" Jesse trailed off, undoing his seatbelt and getting out of the car.

"No worries Jesse, now how about we go and do the rounds." Jesse nodded and followed the doctor inside. The next few hours were physically exhausting, particularly since he was already tired from the previous night. The two doctors were rushed off their feet; the staff was two doctors down so the new interns were being thrown right in at the deep end, helping their mentors (in Jesse's case Mark) with complicated and demanding procedures. However Mark mused Jesse did not seem to be fazed at all, in fact he seemed to thrive on the challenge.

Jesse was happier than he had been in a long time, all thoughts of Bryan were out of is head as he ran about fetching things, examining incoming patients with minor injuries and speaking to the patients on the wards. It didn't matter that he was being worked hard, he was used to that, had worked hard all of his life, all that mattered was that he was doing what he had been dreaming of all his life, helping people, treating illnesses, doing something that he was good at. His pager beeped, he was needed in emergency.

In another part of the hospital Amanda Bentley was getting angry, as a pathologist she had seen some horrible sights over the years, wives beaten to death by their husbands, pensioners dead from the shock of finding strangers in their homes, but this, it was inhuman. Steve put his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it away, she could be upset later, Steve could comfort her later, for now she needed to do her job, she owed it to the baby boy lying dead on her table.

"You've got to find out who did this Steve, he was tortured before he was killed, we have to find whoever did this before another baby is killed."

"We will Amanda, we will."

Jesse walked into emergency, immediately some scrubs were shoved into his arms, he pulled them on and went to see what he could do to help.

"You, the new intern." Jesse turned and froze, Bryan was in emergency, and he was addressing him. "Come on, don't just stand there, come and help me." Jesse rushed over and looked down at the person on the gurney, he backed away in shock.

"Rick" Jesse hadn't anticipated having to treat someone he knew on his second day, but he knew that he had no choice, so he stepped back up to the gurney. "What do you need me to do?"

An hour later Jesse was in the bathroom washing blood off his hands, the door opened and he saw Bryan come through in the mirror, he gave an intake of breath as he saw Bryan lock the door. He looked down at his hands and tried to collect himself, he wasn't going to let Bryan get to him, that was the plan anyway.

"How did you know him?" Jesse pretended not to hear, "Travis, I'm talking to you, you know I don't like to be ignored, how do you know him?" Jesse shrugged then gasped as his face was shoved into the sink full of water, he began struggling to get away, he couldn't breathe, he was going to die, he, he felt himself pulled upwards out of the water. "Answer me Travis" Jesse took a few deep breaths.

"H he's a a f fr friend, that's all, I, I p promise, let me g go, p please." Bryan laughed and Jesse was shoved back underneath the water, his eyes began to sting and he felt himself growing weaker without any air, he felt like he was going to faint, but he was denied even that small mercy, pulled up again he was pushed against the wall.

"I'll let you go when I want to let you go Travis, you know maybe that would have had more conviction if you hadn't of taken forever to get the sentence out T T Travis." Jesse squeezed his eyes tight shut to stop the tears from falling as Bryan mocked him. "Open your eyes Travis." Jesse obeyed and gasped as he saw a fist coming towards him, he wriggled and tried to get away but the fist made contact with his mouth and he cried out in pain. The hands holding him let go and Jesse slid down the wall onto the floor, the tears starting to fall. Bryan just watched him, smiling evilly at his handiwork.

"So Travis, you understand how things are going to be?" Jesse looked up fearfully, eyes wide. before he even had a chance to answer he was pulled up back against the wall, a hand tight around his throat. "You understand?" Jesse nodded, unable to speak for the pressure on his throat, "Good, now Travis, you better get going before someone starts to miss you, but I've got your address from your file, I'll be round later. By the way you did better than I thought in your finals, did you cheat?" Bryan laughed, and then headed for the door, not looking back.

Jesse ran over to the door and locked it again, then slumped down onto the floor and curled into a ball, sobbing.

"Dad, have you seen Jesse?" Steve ran up to his father who shook his head, Steve pulled a face then left the staff room without another word, leaving Mark and Amanda staring after him.

"What was that about Mark?" Amanda asked puzzled, Mark merely shrugged.

Meanwhile Steve began a search of the hospital, he wanted to find Jesse and take him to the beach to surf. He was about to give up and was just about to leave when he heard the sound of muffled crying coming from one of the bathrooms. He tried the handle, it was locked.

"Sorry, two seconds" Jesse's voice drifted through the door, the locked clicked and it opened, Jesse stepped back in shock. "Steve", the older man didn't speak, just pushed the younger back inside and relocked the door.

"You've been crying and you're wet." Steve stated matter of factly, then cursed himself as Jesse visibly flinched. "What's the matter Jesse?" Jesse turned away embarrassed, Steve pulled him back around.

"It d doesn't matter, I n need to get going, I've got t to do s so something." Jesse tried to get past but Steve held him back gently, startled to find that Jesse was shaking. "Steve, please j just let me go."

"Okay, but I'm not letting this drop, I'm going to find out what's wrong." As soon as the door was open Jesse tore away, leaving Steve wondering what on earth was going on.

**I would love to get some reviews –hint. The next chapter will be up as soon as possible, and for those of you who are reading the slash version, 'Companionship' the next chapter of that should be up soon as well. Thanks.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks again for the reviews; it's always nice to get them. This chapter is a short one, the next one should be up shortly.**

Jesse slammed his front door, then bolted it and ran over to the windows to make sure that they were locked, once he was absolutely certain that no-one could get it he walked into the bathroom. He quickly stripped off and stepped into the shower, the cold water was a shock but he ignored it and stood beneath the spray, silent tears falling down his face as he thought about his encounter with Bryan, soon his thoughts took him back to another place, another time.

_Sixteen year old Jesse closed his locker and prepared himself for what he was sure was about to come. Slinging his bag over his shoulder he began to walk, picking up his pace rapidly without really realising it. He'd made it, out of the school at least, now he just had to get to his bike without confrontation, which was going to be easier said than done. Bowing his head Jesse turned in the direction of the bike sheds, a few more yards and he had reached his bike. He looked up; hardly believing it could be true, wondering when it was going to go wrong, he didn't have a long wait. Jesse heard shouting and a quick glance around saw Bryan and his cronies heading towards him, they didn't look like they were in the mood to be nice. He jumped on his bike and began to pedal, hard. Out of the school gates, down the street. Jesse turned into a storage yard and headed for a container. Once inside he barricaded it shut and held his breath, not sure if they had seen him turn in. They had. Bryan and his friends began banging on the sides of the container, shouting threats and laughing. Jesse slumped down onto the floor, knowing that he would just have to wait until they gave up and left. The banging continued, knock, knock, _knock, knock.

It took Jesse a few minutes to realise that the knocking was no longer in his head, someone was at the door. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it round his waist. Stepping out from under the stream of water he shivered, he had been standing in the shower for ages and was really cold. Leaving the front door on the latch he opened it a little way, and jumped.

"Open up Travis," Bryan smiled menacingly, "It's time to play."


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter. This is a short one but the next chapter will be up in the next few days and will be much longer, I promise! Hope you all like this one.**

Jesse tried to shut the door but Bryan blocked it with his foot, although the latch was preventing it from opening further Jesse knew that Bryan could still get it open if he tried hard enough.

"Look Travis, we both know I'm coming in whether you like it or not, so how about you keep me in a good mood, let me in, and it'll be easier on you." The way Bryan spoke was friendly enough but Jesse could see the threat in his eyes, could recognise the hatred that bubbled beneath the surface. He though about his choices, he could either try to get the door shut and barricade himself in, make a run for it out of a window, or he could let Bryan in and hope he would go easy on him.

"I'm not l le letting you in m my home B Bryan, so you can go away now." Jesse tried to sound strong, but his stutter gave him away and his tormentor just laughed.

"Come on now Travis, you don't want me to get angry." Jesse made another attempt at slamming the door, but Bryan blocked it once again, so instead he ran back inside into his bedroom, thankful that he was on the ground floor. After unlocking the window he grabbed his jacket, keys and wallet, as well as his cell phone, as he was climbing out of the window he reflected on the fact that he was doing what he had done his entire life, what he hated his own father for, running away.

He made it to his car and placed the keys into the ignition, as he pulled away he saw Bryan running down the path, the sight of him made Jesse press his foot down hard on the pedal, he didn't know where he was going to go, just that he had to get away.

Bryan was angry, in fact he was fuming, the last time he had seen Jesse Travis he had made it clear that the intern was going to do what he ordered him to do, and yet Travis had disobeyed him and now Bryan had no idea where he was. But Travis wouldn't get away for long, oh no, he was going to be tracked down and punished.


	10. Chapter 10

**Okay apology time again! I really did plan for the next chapter to be up earlier, but then I got sidetracked with revision. This is why it's also a little shorter than I had planned. So here's the next chapter and thanks once again for the reviews and the patience.**

Mark closed the door to his patient's room quietly behind him and began to walk down the corridor. Smiling he began to whistle a tune to himself, a tune that was stopped immediately when Norman Briggs, Hospital Administrator appeared out of one of the rooms, looking very stressed.

"Mark, a word please" the Administrator said as he walked passed the Chief of Internal Medicine. With a slightly amused look on his face Mark followed Norman into one of the supply cupboards and waited for him to speak.

"Well?" Norman asked politely.

"Norman, you're the one who wanted to speak to me; I should be the one saying 'well.'"

"I mean, well? Why on Earth have you let a person like Jesse Travis become an intern in this hospital?

"Jesse Travis is a very capable young man with lots of potential as a Doctor, his results were extraordinary and he has proved to be a hit with the patients so far. I see no problem with him."

"He has a criminal record." Norman had a look on his face that was a mixture between anger and smugness.

"A criminal record? That can't be right, he had a background check just like everyone else and he was clean."

"It say's here," Norman held up a piece of paper, "That he was involved in an assault investigation." Mark took the paper from him and studied it for a moment before replying.

"It say's that he was a witness to an assault when he was," Mark paused for a second, "Norman he was 8 years old at the time, and he was a witness, he wasn't the criminal."

"His step-brother is." Mark looked back down at the paper and nodded.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean Jesse is; now if you excuse me, I have patients to see."

At the same time as Mark and Norman were having their conversation Jesse was driving around aimlessly trying to figure out what he was going to do, Bryan wasn't going to just let him go, and besides Jesse had an obligation to the hospital, he couldn't just disappear. He had to stop driving for a while and get his head together, he had to go somewhere safe, a thought hit him, the beach, the one where he had gone to think the other day, the one where Mark Sloan lived. Where Steve Sloan lived, Steve was a cop, maybe he could help him. Jesse shook his head, he couldn't afford to risk his career, and he didn't know Steve that well, wasn't sure if he could trust him.

Despite Jesse's misgivings about the Sloan's he headed for Malibu, knowing that Bryan wouldn't think of looking there. He could call in sick to work, then maybe head home to visit Chris, Bryan couldn't touch him if he was with Chris, he would be safe.


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, here is the next chapter, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last one.**** Now its confession time, I just realised that Jesse doesn't have any clothes ****on;**** he was in a towel when he answered the door to Bryan, but he didn't put any one before he left! That was my error****, so could you just overlook that and imagine that he got clothes on when he got out of the shower.**** There's a bit more action in this chapter, hope you all enjoy it, would love to hear if you do.**** Thanks, Megan.**

Jesse pulled up outside of the Sloan's house, he hadn't planned on actually going into the house, but he had no change on him, and he needed to use a phone to ring Chris. He had driven around for ages trying to decide what to do. Taking a deep breath he undid his seat belt and stepped out of his car, he locked it, and then headed for the front door. He rang the bell then looked around, Steve's car was there, along with one he didn't recognise, the door opened and Jesse turned back around and saw Amanda standing in the doorway. She smiled, looking genuinely happy to see him, something which Jesse didn't understand.

"Jesse, hi, come on in, we're just eating."

"Oh, right, I wouldn't want to disturb you, I'll just go." Jesse turned to leave but Amanda put her hand on his arm to stop him.

"Nonsense, come on in, Mark and Steve would love to see you, besides there's too much food for three of us." She smiled reassuringly, aware that Jesse had self esteem problems.

"Well, if there's food involved, then I'm your man." Jesse followed Amanda inside; they went into the kitchen where the table was heaving with food. Mark looked up and smiled, gesturing for Jesse to take an empty seat next to him and Steve.

"Jesse, what a nice surprise, nothings wrong is it?"

"No, I was in the area, and I thought I'd drop by, see if there was any news on Rick." Steve looked confused, and was about to speak but Mark got there first.

"Rick's going to be fine, in fact the doctor who worked on him, Bryan Conwell, said to me that if you hadn't of been there to help him, it might have been a different story, so well done." Jesse's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Bryan's name, but Mark carried on speaking, this time to Steve, "A friend of Jesse's was brought into emergency today, Jesse helped save his life. Jesse looked down, blushing. A plate was put in front of him and he began piling food onto it. He was starving, and he was aware that this might be the last proper meal he would have in a long time. The group ate in silence for a few minutes, but the silence was broken when the phone began to ring. Steve went into the passage to answer it, but returned a few minutes later puzzled.

"Must have been a wrong number," he looked at Jesse, who was finishing off the last of his food, "They asked if the Biker was here, must have been a nickname or something." Jesse froze, the fork that had been on the way to his mouth clattered onto the plate and he looked up at Steve wide eyed.

"Did you say the Biker?" Steve nodded and Jesse jumped up and ran to the window, he couldn't see anyone, but he knew that Bryan was out there. "Mark, I have to go, I'm sorry." He turned towards the doorway but stopped when he saw the figure standing in it, Mark, Steve and Amanda followed his gaze. It was Mark who spoke first.

"Dr. Conwell, what are you doing here?"

"Hi Mark, I wanted a word with Travis. But it seems that he doesn't want to talk to me so…" a gun was pulled out and Jesse gave a little squeak, "It looks like I'm just going to have to make him."

Steve felt for his gun and cursed when he realised he wasn't wearing it, Bryan smirked.

"Don't you recognise your own gun Sloan?" Steve inhaled sharply as he suddenly recognised the gun that Bryan was holding. Amanda glanced at Mark who shrugged and looked at Jesse. The intern was stood frozen on the spot, he had gone very pale and was shaking, and he seemed to be trying to say something but no sound was coming out. Five men appeared behind Bryan, all carrying guns and the look of terror on Jesse's face grew worse, he began to shake his head in disbelief.

"Isn't this nice, all the gang together again." Bryan spoke in a sweet tone, but the threat in his voice was unmistakable. The men came into the room and three of them went and stood behind Mark, Steve and Amanda. "Come here Travis." The command was spoken softly but the three words still managed to make Jesse tremble even more. He stayed rooted to the spot, unable to move even if he had wanted to.

"I said come here." Bryan took a step towards the young intern, causing him to back away in panic, "Travis, don't disobey me, come here." Bryan didn't even raise his voice, the tone was enough to make Jesse start to move, except that he was moving in a different direction to the one Bryan had ordered. He ran towards the back door, but his way was blocked by two of the men, they had grown up a lot since Jesse had last seen them, but he still recognised his childhood tormentors, forgetting who was behind him he began to back up, straight into Bryan.

Steve watched as Jesse was grabbed by the hair and flung to the floor; the intern winced, and then lay there cowering on the floor. Bryan Conwell began to go towards him again when Steve spoke up.

"Leave him alone Conwell." Steve had used his most impressive cop voice, the one he used in the interview room to scare people into talking, the one he used when talking to murderers and crime bosses.

"Or what? You'll arrest me? In case you hadn't noticed Sloan, you're outnumbered and you're unarmed, so how about I make the decisions and you keep quiet." Steve glared at him but Bryan took no notice, his attention was already back on his main target.

"Stand up Travis," this time Jesse did as he was told, "You were very rude to me earlier on Jesse, and you disobeyed me. Say sorry." The intern looked down at the floor shaking his head.

"N no, I I wont, y you can't t te tell me what to do any, anymore." Jesse looked back up, and he somehow found the courage to look into Bryan's eyes. Conwell shook his head and looked at Jesse for a few minutes, causing the intern to look down at the floor once more. Suddenly Jesse felt a fist make contact with his stomach, Amanda shouted out; Steve made to stand up but was stopped by a forceful hand on his shoulder. Jesse began to fall forwards, but was stopped from doing so; he was dragged over to the sink where he watched terrified as Bryan filled it up. Understanding what was about to happen to him Jesse struggled to get away but a hand pushed his head forward and he was forced into the water once more.

Watching in horror from his chair Steve realised that this was probably what had happened to Jesse earlier that same day in the toilets at the hospital, and as the intern was dragged up out of the water gasping for breath he began to wonder just how much longer Jesse could hold on.


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, I decided that it would be evil to keep you waiting too long so here's the next chapter, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, hope you like this one.**** Also I'm not totally sure how the schooling system worked in America, so I'm using the one that I use in Newcastle. 5-11 is primary school; 11-18 is high school.**

Jesse wasn't allowed long to catch his breath, he tried to kick out as he was pushed back underneath the water but only succeeding in losing his balance, Bryan stopped him from falling but continued to hold him under the water. He squeezed his eyes tight shut trying to stop the stinging, he knew that he couldn't hold on much longer and just as he began to give in to blackness he was pulled from the water and hit twice around the face. He heard Amanda shouting for it to stop but Bryan ignored her and began walking Jesse into the living room, gesturing at his men to bring the others too.

Steve swore in exasperation as Jesse was thrown across the room, the intern landed next to the couch and he backed up against it trying to get away. Jesse whimpered as Bryan approached and screwed his eyes tight shut, but that didn't blot out the pain or the fear as his tormentor kicked him in the stomach then knelt down beside him.

"So Travis, will you ever disobey me again?"

"N- no."

"Will you ever run away again?"

"No"

"What do you say?"

"I'm s-sor-sorry." Bryan smirked in satisfaction and turned to look at his other prisoners.

"Travis just had to be reminded of his place, Linton, Bell and Watson" Bryan addressed some of his cronies, "Lock them all up somewhere, there's a basement somewhere I think." Watson pulled Jesse to his feet and half dragged him towards the stairs of Steve's basement bedroom. The four of them were roughly shoved inside and then the door was locked and barred from the outside.

Steve jumped into action immediately; he rushed over to Jesse and helped him over to the bed where Mark began to check him over. Then Steve picked up the phone that was on his bedside table.

"The lines dead." Jesse made a strangled sound and stood up, limping over to the door and leaning against it. Steve gave him a confused look and Jesse gave a weak smile.

"Don't want you're bed to get wet." Steve gave a small hollow laugh then went and opened his closet; he took a box down off the top shelf and emptied it onto the bed. Sighing deeply he sat down on the bed and bean searching through the contents. Jesse watched curiously as Steve found a berretta and began to fiddle with it, making sure that it still worked. Jesse felt as though someone was watching him, he looked to the side and sure enough Amanda was looking at him, a concerned expression on her face. Jesse looked away, uncomfortable under her gaze and he thought for a minute before speaking.

"I guess you guys want an explanation." Mark, Steve and Amanda looked at him apprehensively, not sure whether the intern was really ready to talk about it, it was Steve that broke the silence.

"It would probably help us get out of here, but don't tell us anything you don't want us to know Jess." Jesse nodded.

"I first met Bryan when I was 11 years old, when I started high school. We were in the same form and we were seated next to each other. Bryan was a couple of years behind in his schooling, I don't know why. The first day was okay, but on the second he found out that my Dad wasn't my real Dad. My brother Chris, he's my step-brother – in fact he's not technically even that because my Mom and his Dad never married. After he found that out he and his friends, the people out there, made my life hell. Right through high school I hardly had any friends because of him. When we were in year nine he got moved up two years above, but he didn't stop. Even after I left he turned up places, then he got a flat just down the street from Chris' place. We went to the same med school; I hadn't known he was there when I applied. I had no friends there because of him, I didn't go out anywhere in case he was there, and then he left. And all of a sudden everything changed, I still got nervous, and I still had my stutter, but I managed to make a few friends and I wasn't living every day looking over my shoulder. Then I came here and he was at the hospital. I didn't know what to do so I tried to pretend it wasn't happening. He attacked me in the toilets and then he came to my house, I climbed out the window."

Jesse had begun to shake and Mark walked over to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Amanda was crying at the injustice of it all, and Steve was fingering his gun whilst silently promising to make Bryan and his friends pay for hurting Jesse in the way that they had. He was about to open his mouth to say so when there was a little knock at the door.

"Time to play Travis."


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, the story's nearing the end, only a few more chapters to go. Hope you all like this one.**

Jesse jumped away from the door and moved across to the opposite end of the room, he watched as Steve slipped the gun out of sight, then gave a little squeak as the lock clicked open. The door swung open to reveal Bryan standing in the doorway. Jesse tried to back further into the wall, and Mark moved slightly so that he was standing in front of the intern. Bryan walked further into the room, followed by Watson and Bell, the three men headed towards Mark and Jesse, Bryan roughly pushing Mark out of the way.

"L-leave them al-alone Bryan" Jesse pleaded, "I'll d-do anything y-you want, just leave t-them al-alone." He had to protect them; he couldn't let them be hurt because of him.

"How sacrificing of you Travis," Bryan smirked, "You really care about them don't you."

"Yes. And if you hurt them, I'll…"

"You'll what?" Bryan pushed Jesse against the wall and put his hand around his throat, "You really think you can do anything to me?" Bryan pulled his gun out of his pockets and held it up against Jesse's head. "I could shoot you right now," the gun was moved so that it was aimed at Amanda, "Or I could shoot your friends, and you would be too scared to stop me." Jesse's eyes never left the gun that was pointing at his new friends, Watson and Bell both had theirs out as well and were pointing them at Mark and Steve. The gun hidden on Steve's body was useless against all three of them, Jesse knew that, knew that Steve would have to wait until the moment was right before making his move. Even in his terror filled state he realised that he would have to help, knew that he would have to create that moment for Steve.

"B-but you wont sho- shoot me, be-because if you d-do, I'll d-die, an-and you wont h-have anyone to d-do this to." Bryan smirked slightly, knowing that the doctor spoke the truth.

"There are worst things than death Jesse; surely you of all people know that. I can do anything I want to you, I could rape you right here right now, I could cause you more pain than you could ever imagine, I could make you watch as I tortured your friends until they died. " Bryan's voice had softened slightly, but the threat was clear and the words made Jesse tremble violently, but he knew that he had to keep him talking, had to keep him distracted, had to fight back.

"You're pr-prob-probably right, b-but y-you're not going t-to get the chance to d-do th-them things to me." Bryan gave a little laugh and Jesse joined in as he brought his knee up into his tormentor's stomach as hard as he could. Bryan fell back, dropping the gun in shock and Jesse rushed into him, adrenaline taking over. Bryan fell to the ground and Jesse jumped on top of him hitting him as hard as he could, he heard the sound of a gun's safety catch being clicked off and he looked up in alarm, returning his attention to the man who had caused him so much pain as soon as he saw that it was Steve holding the gun.

Bryan recovered from the shock and began to fight back, deliberately aiming for Jesse's injuries, it wasn't hard for him to overpower the intern and there positions were soon reversed. Jesse began to struggle, trying to escape from the man lying on top of him, but Bryan was too strong. He moaned in agony as blows rained down on him and tried to curl himself up to protect himself, but it was no use. He stopped struggling, hoping that the pain would stop but it didn't. Bryan grabbed him by a handful of hair and banged his head against the floor, slapping him to stop him from blacking out.

Then came the sound of a gun shot and the last thing that Jesse knew before blacking out was a sharp pain in his side.


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay, thanks for the reviews for the last chapter, has taken a little longer than I had planned to get this written and posted,**** and is a little shorter than I wanted it to be**** but hopefully it will be good. ****Unless my plans change drastically this is the second last chapter of the story, the last one should be up soon, but I want to make sure it's perfect. ****Enjoy**** this one, Megan**

Jesse groaned, coming out of his unconscious state as quickly as he had fallen into it. Something heavy was lying on top of him and he gave a start as he felt blood trickling down his face. He struggled to move out from under whatever it was on top of him and then came the terrible realisation. He began to scream and struggle, trying to get Bryan's dying body off himself, but his own injuries prevented him from doing so. His side hurt and he gasped in pain as Bryan dragged his nails through the wound in Jesse's side. Then the weight was gone, and he felt gentle hands touching him, comforting him. They were asking him if he was alright, but he couldn't speak, couldn't make out who was talking to him. The he heard a familiar voice.

"Jess, come on buddy speak to me, you're safe now, come on buddy." Jesse opened his eyes and saw Steve, then Mark and Amanda looking down at him with concerned looks on their faces. He groaned and tried to sit up, but Mark's gentle hands held him down.

"Jesse you need to keep still." Jesse nodded, the doctor in him understanding immediately, he winced as Amanda pressed onto the wound in his side. He heard sirens and the next thing he knew police officers were pouring into the room, two paramedics arrived at his side and, glancing sideways he could see a couple attending to Bryan but he quickly turned away. Watson and Bell, who must have been knocked unconscious by Steve, Jesse wasn't sure when, had come around and were struggling against the police officers who were trying to put handcuffs on them. The other two men upstairs were nowhere in sight but Jesse presumed that they had been apprehended. He half closed his eyes.

He heard snippets of conversation, Mark telling the paramedics that he had concussion, Steve asking if he was going to be alright, Amanda telling them to be careful with his stab wound. Jesse's eyes flew open at that as he realised what the wound in his side was, he looked back at Bryan confused and shuddered as the man winked at him, he then turned back towards his friends.

"Wh-what happened?" He was looking at Mark but it was Steve who answered him.

"I'd just knocked one of them guy's out and I turned to help you, Bryan had a knife, I could see that he was about to use it, he-he brought it down, stabbed you in your side, so I shot him." Jesse nodded then groaned as he was lifted onto a stretcher.

"Steve, don't leave me," Jesse tried to look at the detective but his head was hurting, then Steve came into view nodding, grasping at his hand.

"I wont, it's okay; you're going to be alright."

That was the last thing he heard before giving in to the darkness once more.

* * *

Steve sat on the edge of the hospital chair drumming his fingers on his knee, waiting for the intern to regain consciousness. Jesse had needed stitches, in his side and in his head, from where Bryan had banged it against the floor. Steve grimaced at the thought; he now had some understanding of what Jesse must have gone through growing up and it wasn't nice. He had never been bullied as a child, but he knew that Bryan had been more than a bully to Jesse. He had been his worst nightmare, his biggest fear, yet somehow the night before Jesse had found the courage to stand up and fight back. Steve couldn't believe how scared he had been when he had seen Bryan hold a gun at Jesse's head, he hadn't known the intern for that long, but he had felt the same protectiveness for Jesse as he had for Jack whenever he had got into trouble. There was a groan from the bed and Steve moved his chair closer as Jesse's eyes flickered open.

"Hey Jess, how're you feeling?" The intern grinned slightly.

"Like I've been stabbed. How about you? Are you okay?" Steve couldn't believe the man's selfishness, after everything Jesse had been through he was still putting others before himself.

"I'm fine, so are Dad and Amanda. Jesse can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Why did you want me to come with you in the ambulance, I mean, why not Dad, or Amanda?" Jesse studied the detective for a moment before answering.

"Honestly. You remind me of my older brother, not in looks, and I don't even think you're personalities are that similar, but when I'm with you I feel safe, protected." Steve smiled, sitting back in his chair.

"I always did want a little brother." Jesse snorted slightly.

"Steve, you should go home and get some rest, I'm probably going to fall back to sleep any minute now anyway."

"Okay, but I'll be back later, in fact if you're lucky I might even sneak you some food, proper food, not the things they give you in here." Jesse smiled indulgently.

"You know what I would really like." Steve began walking towards the door, stopping in the doorway and turning to face Jesse.

"What?"

"Pancakes – with chocolate spread, no honey." Steve smiled slightly and nodded.

"Rest Jesse, I need my little brother to get well."


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, the last chapter! Can't believe it, I started this last February (seems so long ago.) I've got a few thinks to say.**

**Firstly in the last chapter I used the word selfishness when it was meant to be selflessness, which of course mean totally different things, thank you to epalladino for pointing this out.**

**Secondly a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story, all have been appreciated and I hope that you all like the way I have ended this.**

**For those of you who are reading 'Companionship' that will still be updated, and I hope you continue to read and review.****Also I thi****nk the endings a bit cheesy, but I like it anyway.**

**So here it is, the last chapter. Enjoy. **

One Week Later

The four friends were sitting on the beach, Jesse had been released from hospital a day before Amanda and they had both been recovering at the beach house. Steve had hovered around them both, particularly Jesse – eventually annoying the intern so much that he had threatened to finish his recuperation at his own apartment. Secretly Jesse was pleased with all of the attention he was getting, it made a change from his childhood. He finally felt like part of a family, he finally felt wanted, worth something.

Jesse sighed as he lay back on the beach, watching as couple of children played with their dog. His eyes grew sad as a man joined them, scooping the boy up and swinging him around. He should have had that, but he hadn't. His own father hadn't been there, his mum had been too busy with her work, and Bryan had made his childhood miserable. Jesse thought about Bryan, the man had died in hospital a couple of hours after arriving. Jesse wasn't sure whether that was a good or bad thing, he wouldn't have wanted to have to testify in court, but he had wanted to see Bryan get the punishment that he deserved, bit there was nothing he could do now, the matter had been taken out of his hands.

He jumped slightly as he felt a hand on his shoulders and looked up to see Mark, Steve and Amanda all on their feet.

"What? Mark?" Jesse stood up, concerned, looking at Mark for an answer, but it was Steve who answered.

"It's starting to rain Jess, we should get inside." Jesse looked at the detective and then held his hand out, sure enough he could feel spots of rain and they were getting heavier. Jesse looked at his new friends and smiled.

"So it is." And his smile grew wider as the water rained down on him, and as the water washed over him, he laughed, for the first time in ages.


End file.
